Pictured above: Simon Warr
A member of the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) board was today
confirmed as the new vice-president of Birmingham Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (BCI).
Simon Warr's nomination was approved at the BCI's annual meeting
and he joins Dr Christine Braddock CBE, Principal and Chief
Executive of Birmingham Metropolitan College, as a
vice-president.
Mr Warr is Board Director at JLR for Communications and Public
affairs, a role he has held since February, 2007.
He leads product communications teams for both brands, as well
as having responsibility for corporate and employee communications,
CSR and sustainability for the company.
He has considerable breadth of experience both in the automotive
industry and a range of communications roles. He brought a more
strategic communications approach to Ford's luxury division,
Premier Automotive Group, encompassing Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land
Rover and Volvo.
Mr Warr, 42, has held communications positions at Ford's
European headquarters in Cologne and led Mazda's global
communications team in Hiroshima.
He started his career in journalism in 1991, moving to
government press relations and specialist crisis communications
before joining Ford in 1999. He studied Arabic and German at Leeds
University and journalism at London's City University. He is a West
Midlands CBI Council member.
Mr Warr said: "I relish the opportunity to work with the
Birmingham Chamber team and membership, bringing the voice of
manufacturing and industry to the Chamber's work.
"I will also contribute almost 20 years communications
experience and an existing profile with various media and local
authority figures."
Jerry Blackett, Chief Executive of the BCI, said: "We are
delighted to welcome a senior figure in industry to the Chamber.
Simon brings a wealth of expertise and experience and I am looking
forward to working with him."